Baribote sacked at Bayelsa United

The Bayelsa State government, owners of Bayelsa United Football Club have sacked the Victor Baribote Rumsen led board of the club.

Baribote Rumsen has been chairman of the club for three seasons but has been enmeshed in one controversy or another.

Though the club won the Nigerian league two years ago, last season they were knocked out in the first round of the CAF Champions League by a Chadian club.

Then the club has failed to pay sign on fees to its players for two seasons now despite allegedly receiving eight hundred and fifty million naira (about $5.6m) from the state government in that period.

However, Baribote told naijafootball247 in a chat three days ago that it is not true he received eight hundred and fifty million naira from the government but could not pay his players.

“Those are all rumours. I agree that two seasons ago I could only pay 30% of the sign on fees to players and last season I could not pay anything, it is not true that I collected that kind of money,” Baribote said.

“Anybody that collects that kind of money and does not pay his players must go to hell and rot,” he said.

The club were eventually relegated but Baribote fought the relegation until he got the sports minister, Isa Bio to declare that there would be no relegation in the last league season, a decision that infuriated FIFA.

Baribote is also fighting the removal of Davidson Owumi as chairman of the Nigeria Premier League, claiming he should be the one in the position.

On Tuesday morning, the Bayelsa State sports commissioner; Okpokiri Jones announced the dissolution of the board of the club and that of Bayelsa Queens and ordered chairmen of both clubs to relinquish all government property in their possession with immediate effect.

The commissioner did not state reasons for the action but naijafootball247 investigations reveal they may not be far from those stated above.